The Crueler Side of the Pokeball
by Thypon Lithos
Summary: The world of pokemon with a more realistic environment: the one we live in today. Interesting if you want to see a different world of pokemon. Ch. 3 has been finally posted.
1. Chapter 1: The Road of Desire

_The Crueler Side of the Pokeball_

_A description to thee of what this fic is about._

_Many people today are concerned about one aspect of the world. Whether it be the constant devaluation of the dollar here, global warming, overpopulation, or other reasons, I've never seen such a world portrayed in any title. Perhaps it's because it is too hard to do. _

_However, I will attempt to address these world issues via the Pokemon world. Yes, I am messed up for disrupting the peaceful retreat of Pokemon where children can forget themselves. But I chose Pokemon because I believe that Pokemon has some quality so similar to ours that I had to use the world. I will say this once and only once:_

_I highly respect the people who created Pokemon. You have done wonders to the world by allowing children to briefly imagine a peaceful world. And I am fond of the carefree world. Therefore, I have no claims or titles to Pokemon; I am only a fan._

_Alas, what you read may be entertaining. It may disgust you as well. This involves themes that you would never encounter in the pokemon world, including (quite unfortunately) pokemon eating other pokemon. And if you don't like this story because I have changed the Pokemon world so much, then I am truly sorry for bothering you…_

_Ah, by the way, this is a REWRITE of the first chapter. I managed to make a huge mistake in my first chapter by being inconsistent with the main goal I was trying to achieve. If any of you are reading this for the first time, I put a gang of English speaking, smoking Oddish congregating outside Ash's house after he came home. Obviously, that makes no sense and made the reader confused.  
_

_I replaced the Oddish scene with a more logical scene that fits into order. Nothing else was replaced because it seems to be satisfying. Thank you, **Pink Parka Girl **and **Maverick Hunter Cyros**, your deed is deeply appreciated, as you stated what was wrong and showed me how to fix it. You are the part of the population that knows how things can be corrected, not just condemned. Hopefully, this ending will satisfy you._

_And to **Yuki Tsukihana** (If I am not mistaken, that means snow and moonflower respectively; correct me if I am wrong), your review pointed out flaws within the Pokemon series. I will be sure to include that within the fanfic. And to answer the question if this is a "Pokemon Special" manga... well, as animals can kill humans, so Pokemon can also kill humans as well. And as trainers are required to wander around in an unknown world... well, I'll let you think about that._

_Indeed, let's move on._

_Chapter 1: The Road of Desire_

"I still can't believe you have to wait in these lines… it takes forever…"

As many people have in Kanto's past, it was traditional to send off your child on the road to become a pokemon trainer. This tradition has been passed on from generation to generation and continues onto today. Recently, however, the growing demand of becoming a pokemon trainer resulted in a surplus of trainers. This new influx of trainers was a deep concern, for this generation was lazier and more dependent than the last. It was believed that the fad of pokemon would take a great downward spiral.

Unfortunately, this resulted in a strain on the badge system. The badge system was a way to determine who has completed preliminaries. But as too many trainers came to the gyms, gym leaders often complained of the amount of people coming in. Additionally, the final leagues would be filled with people whose morals are reduced to dust, rather than the old days where honorable battling took place.

As a result, it is now required to test to obtain a license. The license is a "privilege" that allows the owner to compete with their pokemon. Additionally, the license permits only certain things. Some licenses are for contests, a show of performance; others are for battling it up to the famous Indigo league. Licenses could only be issued by government officials and not by professors as previous laws dictated. They now built special houses called "Trainer's License Domes" that have the purpose of issuing licenses to new trainers.

(On a miscellaneous note, a trainer must be 11 years of age, medically examined, emotionally stable, have a decent criminal record and with a 3.0 G.P.A. or higher to obtain a license.)

Since this new method of obtaining licenses has been under way, the amount of incompetent trainers has decreased. The badge system was now executed easily and without complaints. The Indigo Plateau was no longer of weeds, but of skilled trainers whose work was long and hard. But in exchange, successful registration was extremely tedious...

One of these to be pokemon trainers was in the line. Or more appropriately, it was a line where logic made no sense. People wanting to register had to pick a number from a vendor and wait for their number to be called. The trainer's number was 456. The number being called was 145.

The trainer's name was Ash. His mission was to become the world's greatest pokemon master. It was his ambition since he was born. Compounding the best books about the world of pokemon and the annual TV shows about the tournament, he became one of the best in knowing what Pokemon is.

The trainer was quite grumpy by the time his name was called for. Sunset fell on the bleak gray building.

"My name is Ash Ketchum and I'd like to obtain a Trainer's license, please," the trainer groggily requested.

"They're all here for that, you know…" the lady at the counter yawned. It was about time to close up for the day and this lady was a bit hasty. She quickly shot physical questions to the trainer, such as height, weight, age, and so forth. Following the interview, the person told Ash to step to the screen on the side of the wall. Ash obliged and wearily walked towards the screen.

"Please smile."

A giant flash of light hit Ash's inattentive face. He stared blankly while the attendant printed out his license.

"Here's your license, sir." The lady quickly gave the license to him.

Ash was rather disappointed at his stupor smile and half opened eyes. It looked like he was intoxicated, in fact. But that didn't matter. He was more satisfied that he finally got a license in the first place. He smiled just a bit and chuckled just a tad.

"Sir, I would like to ask you to please step out of the building."

Ash strolled out humming; though his stroll was more of a half assed attempt to keep his two feet on the ground. He was tired from waiting in that stale tasteless room. He kept mumbling things about being a pokemon master and catching all the pokemon out there. His legs forgot what the ground was like and as a result, Ash's body eventually stopped. This, of course, was achieved by tripping over an invisible object, most likely a wandering Oddish, and falling onto a soft patch of grass. Of course, his twitching body of fatigue was a prime target for the local law enforcement of Officer Jenny.

"Ma'am, is this your son?"

Obviously, the boy was retrieved and carried by a local Officer Jenny. There were a lot of them around and no one ever seemed to figure out how all these Officer Jennys came to existence. It was impossible for them to have the same mother as there were at least twenty of them running around. Even stranger was the peculiar physical resemblance between each Jenny. Genetic defect or cloning, the population does not know, but what is clear is that these officers have surpassed the usual all male police department. Apparently, the paperwork and coffee got to them.

In this quaint house of Ash's there lived only one person: Ash's mom. She was relatively energetic for her age and still acted childish at times. She was a single mother; it seemed that the father left the scene long ago. In any event, the mother was rather surprised to see her only son handled like a doll with another woman.

"Yes, I believe he is." The mother answered. It sounded like she didn't know it was her own son.

"Seems to me like your son could use a little rest in the right place," the officer replied. "You were lucky we found him. There have been reports of a gang of Oddish that use Sleep Powder to make people fall asleep. They take the person's possession while they're still sleeping." She looked at the boy's drooling face and looked back at Ash's mother. "Please take care of your child, ma'am. I don't want to call Social Services."

The mother was puzzled. She nodded and took her son to the couch, bowed to the officer and bid her good bye. Taking a blanket, she threw it on the sleeping boy. She sighed briefly, then went upstairs to bed.

Looking out the window in her charming little room, she wondered what exactly happened to her son while he was out obtaining his license. She remembered the days when Pallet Town was a place of peace and everybody knew each other. And now, instead of the good old days, she lived in an era where her son would face criminals, prostitutes, and just weird, untrustworthy people. She worried about her son's life and began to frown. It was time she stopped acting so oblivious and cute... and time to prepare her son for a trip around the world.

The mother finally decided that she would just go to bed and sleep her worries off. She never liked thinking about these things too much. It hurt her brain and made her sad. With that, she drank a glass of water and settled into sleep.

_Again to **Yuki Tsukihana**, instead of using the double line as you mentioned, I will make author's notes italicized, is that all right? And if you haven't noticed, if I mention an author, that person's pen name will be in **bold** and italics. _

_There will be a smoking Oddish... but at the right time, with a proper explanation for its absurd behavior. _

_I am not so serious in real life; however, I must set the tone for this story so if this formal accent displeases you, I am most sorry._

_I would like the readers to review again to confirm that I have done the right thing by changing this ending. That way, I can continue forth with the assurance that I can write this fanfic properly. And if I do manage to make a mistake... then you reviewers will make sure I come back to the right path._


	2. Chapter 2: Improvision

_Your author has returned to deliver another exciting chapter. I realized that it was not possible to give me critique on the edited chapter as there was no possible way to give another review on the chapter without anonymously reviewing. _

_To **Bookworm777**, welcome to the fic. Three other persons are interested in this fanfic and it seems to be gaining more popularity than expected. Yes it is four now, but as long as these people are reading, then I am satisfied. And I was not planning to have the future smoking Oddish speak English, that just throws the story off context. As of date, Team Rocket's Meowth will be the only one to speak English._

_I believe that edit was sufficient so I will continue on with this story that I weave. There may be a change in Ash's character from the one you know so please inform me if that is so. I also apologize for the lengthy time needed to update; it was rather hard to write this chapter._

_Chapter 2: Improvision_

Pallet Town has quite a reputation in the stories of Kanto. It is known as the town of beginnings, where trainers come here to get a grasp of the world of Pokemon. While it is true that every city and town offers this service, the cities never had quite a feel of fresh trainers than that of Pallet Town.

Pallet Town is famous for that and one other person. He lives atop a high hill, living by himself. His life has been devoted to the curiosity of the fascinating creatures of Pokemon. His name was Professor Oak.

Back in the days of peace and prosperity, Oak used to be able to teach young children what Pokemon were and how these creatures functioned in nature. He was always delighted to see a child knock on the door and say "Professor Oak, can you teach me about Pokemon?" Oak would gladly take the child in and tour around his spacious lab, showing him all the wonderful things he collected about Pokemon. He'd go outside to his field research area and show him a couple of Pokemon held in captivity. Yes, Oak was a happy man.

But then license restrictions came. Since then, only trainers were allowed to visit the professor and only for business or retrieving a first pokemon. Oak was too busy filling out paperwork about his research and his lab credentials to teach children anyway. This made him very sad. The only child he could even talk to was his grandson, Gary and he too was leaving on his own journey.

Today was an exceptionally bad day. He just realized that he ran out of starter pokemon for his trainers. Starter pokemon are notoriously known to be difficult to breed. It prevented trainers from making accidental baby pokemon, but starter pokemon always had a tough time breeding. They lacked interest. So they were always low on supply. Professor Oak was stressed out because he knew that someone special would come in today first thing in the morning.

He sighed. His grandson took the last Squirtle in the lab. Charmanders and Bulbasaurs went like hot cakes a week ago. And he received no shipment of the three since two months ago. No eggs, either. Shipping pokemon to labs had caused Pokemon rights protests in the past, and Oak wondered if the protest group won their case. It wasn't like he treated them poorly or anything. The shipping process was probably more stress on the pokemon and the protest group never liked the idea of mass shipping. The man sighed again.

"Mom, I'm going to get my first pokemon!"

"That's great, honey! Come back here when you do so I can see it, okay!"

"Okay!"

With a bellyful of pancakes and hot syrup, the youthful Ash sprung out his doorway. Passing the enduring trials of License Registration, the boy was absolutely delighted to finally be able to receive his first pokemon after so many years of watching. He skipped his way down to the lab, making sure to give a greeting to everyone that passed by. Nothing could stop his bountiful happiness now. Well, except one thing. And that thing was waiting in the very place Ash was frolicking to.

Oak saw the boy skipping down the road and approaching his residence. Oak was terrified to face the boy's future tears. Without haste, he turned off all the lights and shut the blinds, locked the doors and went down to the basement to quietly do paperwork. He was afraid.

By no means was he avoiding the boy, but he didn't want to see his disappointment. He was not ready to face the rejection from the trainer. He knew it was okay to be wrong, but when someone condemned him to a mistake, he could never handle it. And if he was to be condemned by the same person that idolized him since his birth... he didn't want to think of it. He quickly descended the lab into the basement and took out the paperwork to be done.

He remembered the days when he was a striving young lad. All the people around him criticized him every time he did something wrong. His early years as a professor were terrible. His credibility was low and he never liked it. All he wanted to do was teach the world about Pokemon... but when others shunned him for his small errors, he felt unappreciated. If he couldn't help anybody, he didn't deserve to exist. For such an old, wise man, he still had that one flaw.

The door was knocked upon. Oak shivered for a bit. The repetitive knocks echoed in the now dark lab. The professor's hand twitched as he strained to write. The knocks continued like a wrath. The professor struggled to keep in the chair he sat on. He waited for it to stop. And eventually... it did.

"I guess I'll check the back door, then."

Oak forgot that his back door wasn't opened. He remembered how Ash could sneak in to accompany Oak and ask him more questions about Pokemon. He locked his basement door and sat at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for it to end.

"Hello? Professor Oak?"

The child wandered into the lab. He was distraught when he saw that all the lights were out and the blinds shut. Ash knew Oak would never leave without informing the people. He looked around the lab until he encountered a locked door. Peculiarly, this was the only door he found that was locked. He made the correlation that Oak was probably inside. He knocked on the door.

"Professor! Are you in there?"

Oak became terribly tense from the incessant knocking and the cries. He thought the boy gave up but the rapture came back, louder than before. The continuing cries shook his heart and he couldn't stand it anymore.

"Go home!" the professor yelled.

"Professor, is that you!" Ash replied.

"There's nothing here for you, please go home!"

Ash was quite puzzled until he saw a stack of papers over in the distance. He picked them up and read them slowly. "Pokemon shipping bills," Ash began.

"Don't read what's not yours!" Oak yelled again.

Ash was not paying attention. He looked at the small stack. He found that shipping costs increased as he went along the sheets. When he came to the last sheet, he was shocked. It read this:

Order:

50 Bulbasaur lv. 5 32,000

50 Charmander lv. 5 35,000

50 Squirtle lv. 5 33,000

50 Assorted Pokemon Eggs 20,000

Shipping and Handling: 1000

Professor reduction rate: -500

Total: 120,500 Pokedollars.

Besides the ridiculous cost, the paper seemed normal like all the other papers in that stack... but there was something written at the bottom that caught Ash's attention.

Order Denied:

As we are currently out of starter pokemon to ship, your order has been denied. All money has been returned to the work account. Product should be available within two to three weeks. Thank you.

The trainer stared at the paper a bit more, as to confirm the text on the paper. He smiled.

"Professor... you didn't want to see me get mad at you because you had no starter pokemon, didn't you?" the trainer said. There was no reply on the other side of the door. Ash started to talk again.

"I guess I'm a little disappointed... but I can always wait, I guess. I mean, it's always a bummer, but you know what? It's all right. I'll wait until the next shipment if you need to." The trainer gained a sense of maturity, as if gaining a new insight.

"Can you please come out now? It's not really a big deal."

Ash waited. With assurance, the doorknob opened. On the other side, a slightly sniffling, smiling Oak was on the other side of the door.

"Good morning, Ash," the professor sniveled.

"I'll wait if you want me to," Ash replied.

"No, no... I just cracked. All the paperwork I have now, the new license restrictions... all this new work... must have finally gotten to me," the professor said. He regained himself quickly. He did not want to appear emotionally unstable in front of a confident trainer.

"At any rate, I don't have any more starter pokemon for you. I'm sorry. I know you were anxious to get a new one, but I ran out yesterday."

"Oh, that's okay. I'm just curious, Professor, who got the last one?"

"Oh... Gary. You know him, don't you?"

Professor Oak's one common misconception was that Gary and Ash were good friends. His impression was totally wrong. As Gary was older than Ash, he took every chance he could to shove that piece of knowledge up Ash's head. Gary was also significantly better at what seemed to be everything. Unfortunately, as Ash followed the same dream as Gary, they became rivals.

"That Gary!"

Ash clenched his fist tightly. He was quite angry. If another person had taken the pokemon, then he would've been more forgiving, but for Gary to beat Ash at this game was infuriating and good reason to be mad. He was about to break a window, but he saw Oak. He quickly withdrew his anger, at least temporarily.

"Ash..." Professor Oak began to say. "I think I can improvise the situation we have at hand. If you are interested in a pokemon as of right now... I believe I can give you one. It's more of a challenge, but I think you can do it. Would you like it?"

Ash's eyes shone. "Would I! Heck yes, Professor, I'd love it! Anything to beat that Gary!"

Professor Oak sighed and smiled. "He's like a child again," he said to himself. He turned on all the lights. He opened the blinds and let sunshine in once more. "Follow me, Ash."

Ash eagerly went behind him. The energy in him suddenly just burst out again. He was quite glad to be able to get a pokemon now. He already knew vaguely that Oak still had something wrong with him, and for Ash that was quite all right.

Oak stopped in the center of a single room. It was mostly circular and with but one intriguing feature. This was the stand in the center that contained three pokeball slots. The slots were empty, of course, but this was expected. Professor Oak went into the computer and typed a few things.

"Let's see here... Ash, could I have our license number?"

"Sure," Ash said. He took it out from his back wallet. "The number is 01- 456- 06."

(On a miscellaneous note, 01 stands for "Pallet Town" region, 456 is the trainer number and 06 is a randomly generated number based on physical credentials.)

Oak typed this in. "We have your account now. I can look up all the information you have right now. We can manually override the system and allow you to have a starter unique from the traditional three." Oak left his chair and walked out briefly. He came back with a pokeball in his hand.

"Are you ready?" Oak eagerly asked. Ash nodded vigorously. With that, Oak released the pokemon inside.

"Pikachu!"

Revealed to Ash was a small yellow rodent like pokemon. It had curiously long ears, big cute eyes, stubby arms and legs and a tail that looked similar to a thunderbolt. Its face expression was hard to resist, though its thoughts were probably not on that topic.

"Ash, in addition with this pokemon, I will give you more supplies to aid you on your journey." Oak gave the trainer five pokeballs and a bright red pokedex. "I would advise testing out your pokedex right now."

Ash opened the pokedex. It had this to say about Pikachu:

"Pikachu, the mouse pokemon. Pikachu often appear in packs and their cheeks are essentially sacs of electricity. When in harm, Pikachu will use their cheeks to shock their opponent with electricity."

"Your pokedex is currently in quick scan mode. It lets you quickly get some good information about the pokemon in front of you. You can also look up other credentials about your pokemon. Try it out."

Ash fumbled through the various modes, eventually getting into attack mode.

"This Pikachu is at level 5. It currently knows 'Quick Attack,' 'Thundershock,' and 'Growl.'"

Oak smiled at Ash. The old man felt satisfied that he did his job. He knew that this Pikachu was a very challenging Pikachu to take care of, but he knew that Ash would be patient enough.

Ash thanked the professor kindly and retrieved his Pikachu. He attempted using the pokeball's beam feature to return the Pikachu, but the Pikachu did not go inside. It scurried back and forth in an attempt to avoid the red beam. Ash became confused.

"Ash, some pokemon don't like being inside a pokeball. Most Pikachu don't like pokeballs at all. I struggled to keep him in there myself."

Ash was perplexed at this. He thought all pokemon would happily go into a pokeball.

"Some pokemon are just special, if you want to put it that way," Oak concluded.

Ash thought for a little bit and smiled. "Yeah, I guess so, huh?" He looked at his Pikachu, curiously looking at him back. Ash picked the mouse pokemon up and laughed. "Well, Pikachu, looks like you have a new friend. I'm Ash, and I'm going to be your new pokemon trainer; isn't that going to be awesome!" Ash smiled.

The Pikachu thought otherwise.

_This chapter took longer than suspected due to character behavior. Hopefully I did not make the mistakes I did last time, but if I have, then please point it out to me via the review button.  
Well, have a good day, my reader._


	3. Chapter 3: A Mother's Feelings Pt 1

_This chapter took a longer time to write, not due to lack of idea, but lack of energy. I acquired an illness called the "flu." It managed to take away my energy and so I couldn't write. I am better now, as indicated by this new chapter._

_My kudos to **Jewl4Life **and **The Dark Icon Writers** for enjoying the fic. _

_To **Rei do Mundo**, yes, Team Rocket will have guns. I'm surprised the pair we see on every show hasn't been fired for not doing their job. I think they can perform much better if they have the capacity to kill people._

_**Maverick Hunter Cyros, **I had a hard time writing that particular scene in the chapter where Oak was worrying. I had several scenarios, but I must've picked the best one. And, no, otakus are not weird people, they're just... special, that's all._

_**Pink Parka Girl**, the suggestion for the squirrel like behavior for Pikachu is an excellent proposition (though Pikachu is moreover based from mice). This idea, however, is something I have to consider. Realistically, Pokemon should behave like animals and have no sense for humans and only for survival. In the Pokemon world, they are capable of understanding human speech and emotion. I am not sure what to do, as Pokemon cannot obey their trainers without understanding some form of human speech. Perhaps they trained like dogs: they are taught certain words and what to do when these words are heard. I will have to think long and hard about this one._

_In any event, let's move on to the story before you get any more impatient._

_Chapter 3: A Mother's Feelings, Part 1_

Delia Ketchum is one of Pallet Town's well known residents. She's a very nice person, inviting strangers in for a home and a cup of tea. Her warm smile can melt the troubles of any human. And her cooking is simply to die for.

But beneath this kindly exterior lies a true mother at heart. She is one that takes care of her son with disregard to herself. And while Ash never knew this, Delia always worried about her son because of his ambition for becoming the greatest pokemon trainer in the world.

Her husband had a dream of the same name. So her husband left Delia to accomplish this dream when they were young. Delia became pregnant with Ash, but the father... he mysteriously disappeared. Delia wondered, but it wasn't until she had Ash that she found out that he was killed by someone named Giovanni. She didn't know much more outside of that.

Ash never knew of the man's death... ever. The mother cared too much about her son to deliver the news. Instead, she always said he was on a journey and always left it at that. If Ash said anymore, she would give him some food to make him quiet.

And now, her son would leave her. She wondered if he, too, would die. She knew that she couldn't hold onto the boy forever, but there was always the fear of her son becoming murdered. It was a terrifying thought for her and it ate her heart out sometimes when she thought of it.

Today in particular, she became so nervous of her son that she went off to search for him. Knowing her son would be at Professor Oak's lab, she hastily walked in that direction. She was worried. She had nothing to worry about but she feared this day when Ash would get his first pokemon. He would leave and poor Delia would be left alone. She didn't like the idea of people leaving her. It scared her to be alone.

She came up the long hill and came up to Oak's lab. She knocked hastily. Nothing happened. Waiting for a few minutes, she decided to knock again, this time louder and with urgency. Nothing happened. She tried opening the door. It was strangely unlocked. She opened it uneasily and looked around. She panicked upon hearing screams. She ran through the lab without regards to any of the consequences.

She stopped suddenly.

She saw Professor Oak. She saw Ash. But they were interacting in the strangest way possible. Ash was on his toes, in a sweat and with huge panicking eyes. Ash was slightly burnt and had a scent similar to some kind of charcoal or ash (pun intended; not funny). Professor Oak had a similar look on his face, but he wore rubber gloves. Both had their focus on a yellow rat with long ears assuming an offensive position on the floor.

Without warning, Oak jumped at the Pikachu and tried grabbing it. The hasty Pikachu jumped. Professor Oak fell and slid on the floor. The Pikachu landed on its head and jumped away from an equally hasty Ash. Ash landed on Oak; Pikachu got away. It landed on the computer and stared intently at the two. After blinking about four times, it jumped into Delia's hands and snuggled into her.

It was at that particular moment in time that the two persons on the ground decided to slowly turn their head towards the woman. Proceeding that moment was a slight muscle spasm in the right eye, the malfunction of the jaw, and a furrow of the eyebrow.

The first words the two said was "Huh?"

The second phrase they said was a combination of "Mom?" and "Delia?"

The third phrase was more of a sound, because it combined the phrases "You have Pikachu!", "Why are you here?", and various gasps into a single sound.

Delia, of course, had no idea how to respond. She instead attempted to give the Pikachu back. The Pikachu, however, clung tightly to the mother and prevented her from giving it back.

Ash and Oak quickly saw each others' positions on the ground. In response, the two got back up to their feet and brushed off the non-existent dust from their clothes. They both also coughed simultaneously.

"Well, Ash," Oak said, "I think that solves our problem. I am curious, however, as to how the Pikachu is going to stay with you throughout the journey. You could bring your mother along..." Oak chuckled at this.

"But we wouldn't want that. I'm wondering just how it'll stay with you. It won't go into its pokeball, so it may run away if provoked. I'm not too sure as to how much that Pikachu cost. It came with a couple others for about 20,000. Have it go home with your mother for a couple hours. It could get used to you. Either way, let me know. We should be able to figure something out."

Ash nodded. He walked to his mother, signaling. "C'mon, Mom, let's go."

The two went back home. Delia now held a sleeping Pikachu, cozily intent on dwelling within the pleasures of her arms. Ash walked with a smile on his face. His thoughts were moreover focused on the Pikachu though. It was going to be a tough journey figuring out how to keep the Pikachu tame and obedient. Ash thought over this for a bit.

While Ash was thinking about his journey, Delia was moreover thinking about how to convince Ash NOT to go on the journey. She was distraught to say the least. To lose her last connection to any of her family... after the rest of her brothers and sisters moved to a place far away called "Johto..." She wanted to talk to the boy, yet something suppressed her. Maybe it was the peaceful Pikachu in her arms or that the boy seemed too happy to leave home. Whatever the situation, her words never left her throat.

The mother and son came back home. Ash plopped down onto the couch and stared at the ceiling. Becoming tired from concentrating at the number of bumps on the ceiling, Ash quickly went to sleep. Delia frowned briefly, then put the Pikachu on top of the sleeping one. The Pikachu and the trainer didn't seem to mind the presence of each other.

Delia sighed. She had to talk to him.

_I apologize for the cliffhanger. I needed to post this chapter to make sure that the readers did not think that I was assassinated. I feel much better now than I did a couple days ago. As this is spring break, I should have a new chapter up next week._

_In any event, the review is there for you. Press it and tell me how I did. Hopefully, I didn't fail..._


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